Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-09-06
A GOOD WORK.
The Preparation of Certified Copies of the
Plans Filed In the Land once.

II will be remembered that during the last
session of the legislature the following reso-
luton was passed.
Resolved. That the state land agent be ar
he hereby is directed to prepare certified
copies Of all plans now on file in the state
land office, relating to lands in this state, and
cause the same to be bound in books of con-
venient size and form, and when so bound. to
furnish to the registry ofideeds of each county
copies of such plans so bound, as relate to
land embraced in said county, and said copies
shall be received as evidence in all the courts
of this state. with the same effect that the
originals might receive if produced.
The drafting work provided by this resolve
has been commenced within the last month
by Maj. James R. Cochrane of Augusta. The
selection CT Maj. Cochrane for this work was
an excellent one and reflects credit upon the
good judgement of Land Agent Packard. Mr..
Cochrane has had wide and valuable expe-
rience in work of this character and there is
| probably no better draughtsman in the State.
He was for several years the Deputy Secre-
tary of State, and from 1868 to 1886 was at
tached to the Supervising Architects Division
of the United States Treasury Department,
as Superintendent of Construction of G overn-
ment buildings at Bangor, Portland and Wis
casset in this state, and at Columbia
S. c.. Nashville. Tenn, and Louisville, KY =,
including extensive repairs on several other
government buildings in various parts of the
country. In carrying out the provisions of
the resolution Maj. Cochran soon found that
he had undertaken a task of no little magni-
tude. The plans referred to are the original
surveys of lands in the district of Maine,
made under authority of the commonwealth
of Massachusetts, extending from ocean tide
waters to the extreme northern boundary of
the State as it existed before the Ashburton
treaty. together with surveys made under
direction of the several land agents of Maine
since its admission as State in 1920 The
copies of these plans. to be carefully and
accurately made and authenticated, are to be
furnished the Registry of Deeds in each
county where these lands are located, for
the purposes indicated in the resolve. Many
of them require duplicate and triplicate cop
les, as the boundary line of the ten counties
of Maine in 1920 have been so changed by
the incorporation of new counties that certain
lands embraced in single plan now lie in
two, three and sometimes four different coun-
ties. The whole number OF plans filed in the
office of the State Land Agent Is between
eleven and twelve hundred, but many of
them are duplicate which will considerably
reduce the number to be copied.
These plans were kept separately in rolls,
or in folded forms until 1877 when Hon E.,
G.. Burleigh, who was then land agent of the
State, caused them to be arranged by the late
Luther Eaton, civil engineer. of Bangor.
They were posted by him on to large sheets
of the heaviest drawing paper obtainsble,
and bound into volumes properly PACED and
indexed. MIR. Eaton did this work in a most
thorough and beautiful manner The vol
umes now in the Office of the land agent will
ever remain a monument to his great skill as
draughtsman. By this arrangement the
work of finding any particular plan when
needed for reference was greatly simplfed.
Formerly this had been serious
task, causing many lengthy and vexatious
searches besides the wear and tear of the
plans from frequent handling Indeed. many
of them are now, after this commendsble
effort at preservation, very difficult to de-
cipher
Anyone who has visited Maj. Cochrane in
the Senate Chamber and seen the beautiful
and accurate work he is doing in the prepare
tod of the certified copies of these plans as
provided for in the resolve, will have some
idea of the magnitude and importance of
this movement to complete and render of
general utility these old and valuable records
of the early State surveys.